Kid-friendly destination
As magical as the San Juan Islands can be for adults, they offer even another enchanted dimension for children.
If you want to get your son or daughter off the video games, away from the television and see how they survive without a computer, the San Juans are a great getaway for a weekend or a week.
Most people consider the islands off the northwest Washington coast a summer destination, but there are untold advantages for traveling there in the fall and winter. The ferry fares are the cheapest of the year, and there are no long waiting lines. Lodging rates are low and room choices are prime.
And here’s a bonus: The San Juans average 247 days of sunshine a year and only experience half the rain of Seattle because they bask in the “rainshadow” of the Olympic Mountains.
Only 20 islands out of the hundreds in the archipelago are inhabited. The three largest, Orcas, San Juan and Lopez, host nearly all the population. For kid-friendly activities, restaurants and lodging, San Juan Island has the most choices and should be your home base with maybe a day trip to Orcas.
Getting to the San Juan Islands is part of the fun. In fall and winter your most economical option is to take a Washington State Ferry from Anacortes to Friday Harbor. At the most, a car and driver at peak hours is $49.85 round-trip (fares are only collected when traveling westbound).
Kids love to let the sea winds blow against them, pretend they are flying and run from deck to deck or just look for marine life. If it’s chilly, stopping at the coffee shop for a mug of hot chocolate will warm them up.
Parking your car in Anacortes, walking on the ferry and using taxi services or renting a car once you get there is another way of getting around the islands. Taxi service is only available on San Juan and Orcas Island. Rental cars are available on San Juan Island year-round and you can drive those cars on the ferry to island-hop.
Don’t forget to pack your bicycles; the islands are very biker-friendly. If you don’t want to bring yours, everything from mountain bikes and high-performance racing bikes to tandem bikes and children’s bikes and trailers are available to rent year-round at Island Bicycles in Friday Harbor. Helmets are included.
Remember, safety dictates that bicyclists and those on mopeds ride single file and stay to the right.
On Orcas Island
Despite much growth, San Juan County, which encompasses all the islands, doesn’t have much in common with its mainland neighbors. The only traffic light in the county, which hung for some years in Eastsound on Orcas, now sits in the Orcas Island Historical Museum. You won’t hear much horn honking on these two-lane roads.
Moran State Park and Mount Constitution, San Juan County’s highest point at 2,409 feet, are both popular scenic attractions on Orcas Island. A 52-foot stone tower, a sure cure for that itch to climb, sits atop the mountain. Adults appreciate the panoramic view of the islands and the Cascades in the distance.
While you’re on Orcas drop by The Funhouse Discovery Center in the town of Eastsound. This nonprofit community center is full of hands-on science exhibits and audio and video production studios, and frequently holds classes and other activities.
Use your imagination in the Frozen Shadow Room, throw a no-hitter in the pitching cage and watch a ping-pong ball race through 40 feet of tube on the Ping Pong Highway. Rumor has it adults enjoy the Funhouse almost as much as the young ones.
On San Juan Island
The ferry lands in Friday Harbor and that’s where most of the action takes place on San Juan Island.
Here’s some trivia the youngsters might appreciate: Several stories exist about how Friday Harbor got its name. One of those concerns a traveler who had just arrived at the harbor. He stopped and asked a local, “What bay is this?” The local thought he heard “What day is this?” and replied, “Friday.” After that the community was referred to as “Friday Harbor.”
After leaving the vessel (that’s ferry talk for “ferry”), you might want to make a quick stop at The Toy Box. Stuffed whales, ferry boats, travel games, portable arts and crafts activities, water wigglers, tops, puzzles and games grace the walls and racks.
Nancy Hanson, owner of the store, has a whole slew of toys she refers to as “shut up” toys. You might need one of those if you plan to enjoy any down time.
You’re so close to the Whale Museum, you might as well go inside.
The museum displays are divided into three areas. The first describes whale biology, which includes the definition of a whale and how whales are suited to their life at sea.
The second area includes regional species: which whales live in this area and what we know about them. Whales like the San Juan area; three pods – J, K and L – can be found there during certain times of the year.
The last section depicts whales and humans, our relationship with both whales and the marine environment.
A favorite display for kids is a phone booth which plays the sounds whales make. Touch “1” to hear Orcas and “5” for Pilot Whales. Check out the brain comparisons and see how small the human brain is in comparison to the Fin Whale brain. Stop by the gift shop on your way out and purchase a stuffed whale or a book to stimulate your brain.
Lime Kiln Point State Park affords beautiful visual stimulation for everyone and allows the kids to run off some of that built-up energy. The .8-mile interpretive trail follows the shoreline so you may see whales and other marine mammals, plus intertidal creatures, and you can get up close and personal with an actual lighthouse. Find out what limestone and orca whales have in common. They are both found in small groupings or pod-like congregations.
The 55 alpacas at Krystal Acres stick together. Although alpacas can be a bit stand-offish, they are curious and might hold still long enough for your child to give them an apple. Just check with Kris or Albert Olson, the owners, first.
Each alpaca is registered and named just like a pedigreed dog. They come in 22 natural colors, more colors than any other mammal. How Kris Olson can recognize each one is amazing.
Alpacas are sheared once a year in May or June and yield 5 to 8 pounds of fiber per adult animal, enough to make four sweaters. They also come in the widest range of natural colors of any animal.
On the grounds at Krystal Acres is a country store featuring sweaters, hats, gifts and collectibles. One popular kid’s purchase is an educational activity book titled “Alpacas” which even includes an alpaca glossary.
Time spent on a boat is almost a necessity when visiting the San Juans. On a Bon Accord boat tour, you might see cormorants, porpoises, harbor seals, bald eagles, turkey vultures, blue heron and more. Patrick Pillsbury runs his boats on environmentally friendly biodiesel as much as possible and doesn’t take more than six people out at a time.
When it’s time to settle down for the night, the Friday Harbor Inn is a favorite among kids because of its heated indoor pool, and if you’re carless it’s only three blocks from the ferry dock. Rooms come with a telephone, microwave, minifridge and cable TV.
If you want to prove to your children they will survive without television, States Inn and Ranch is a viable option. This bed and breakfast is a 60-acre working ranch with sheep, alpacas, horses and chickens.
The innkeepers, Angel Michaels and Richard Foote, stock carrot coins in a small refrigerator so children can feed their alpacas. Kids who are guests can also help them gather eggs from the chickens and assist in moving the chickens with a device called a chicken tractor
Michaels and Foote serve the most incredible breakfasts using local products as much as possible and sometimes offer golden watermelon from their garden. If you think your children might cringe at the sight of an artichoke frittata, not to worry; kids are asked to try what’s being served for breakfast, but they can always opt for a scrambled egg or the homemade granola that’s always on hand.
The innkeepers’ favorite thank you arrived on a postcard, scrawled in a child’s best printing: “I stayed here and I loved it.”
Juniper Lanes on Beaverton Valley Road rents a cabin or rooms in a large home. Rooms come with a communal kitchen which is always stocked with good coffee, tea and fruit. No meals are served here, but the kitchen is a great place to make sandwiches after you pick up the makings at one of the two grocery stores in Friday Harbor. Roasting marshmallows outside in a fire pit is another fun activity for kids.
After dinner you can bowl a few games at Paradise Lanes. In addition to an automatic scoring system, the staff will raise the rails on either side of the lane you’re using at no extra cost. Then nobody, not even the adults in the party, will be embarrassed by throwing gutter balls.
A stop on the other side of San Juan Island, at Roche Harbor, is worth your time just to see the magnificent yachts. One tourist said they expected James Bond to leap off one.
At the Hotel de Haro, John Wayne’s custom, oversize tub is still in use. He was a frequent visitor to the marina and resort. But then, your children probably don’t know who John Wayne was.
Before your trip, you might want to rent the video “Free Willy II” – a character they will recognize – to familiarize them with the location, because it was filmed in the San Juan Islands.